Slowing mechanism for roving-rollers of woolen-mules.



A. L. DU'NHAM. SLOWING MECHANISM FOR ROVING ROLLERS 0F WOOLEN MULES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.3, 1917. V

Patented Aug. 13, 1918..

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A. L. DUNHAM SLOWING MECHANISM FOR ROVING ROLLERS OF WOOLEN MULES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.3, I917- 1,275 ,406. Patented Aug.13,1918.

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ABRAHAM I1. DUNHAM; F CHELMSFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

SLOWING MECHANISM FOR EDITING-ROLLERS OF WOOLEN-MULES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 13, 1918.

Application filed December 3, 1917. Serial No. 205,208. I

To-all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM L. DUN- HAM, a cltizen of the United States, residing at Chelmsford, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Slowing Mechanism for Roving- Rollers of Woolen-Mules, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to spinning mules in which there is a head and a carriage which travels to and from the head. It is especially applicable to the type of mule in which the roving is delivered by feed rolls in the head and in which the carriage travels during the first part of its motion away from the head at such a speed'that the roving is kept tight, but is not drawn out; or, as it is commonly stated, the carriage travels at the same speed, meaning the same surface speed, as the roving rollers.

r This type of mule includes those generally used for spinning woolen yarn and for spinning certain other fibers.

With wool and similar fibers, before the roving is drawn out, it is necessary that-it should receive a certain amount of twist and this is imparted while the carriage is receding from the head at the same speed with the roving rollers. At a certain point, according to the amount of draft or size of yarn desired, the roving rollers are stopped automatically by suitable mechanism while the carriage continues its travel.

Such roving rollers are usually stoppedby means which automatically disengage a clutch permitting a brake to operate.

If the brake acts promptly, the rollers stop suddenly, and as the carriage continues its movement, there is a jerk on the yarn or threads which frequently causes breaks at weak spots. On the other hand, when the roving has nearly run off the jack spool, if the brake fails to work properly or has been thrown off, the momentum of the roving rolls carries along the roving sometimes several inches resulting in coarser or uneven yarn. Some roving, like cotton, noils and mohair, has a tendency to slip past the drums when the roving rolls stop suddenly.

The purpose of my device is to cause the roving rollers to slow down just at the right time before stopping or knocking off, thus easlng off on the threads and preventing them from breaking and .making smooth, even yarn.

By stopping the rollers slowly, the joints are not loosened and back lash is avoided, whereby there is less danger of broken threads when the carriage starts away from the head.

With my device stronger, evener yarn with fewer twits or fine places is made.

It is unnecessary to. describe the entire mechanism of a mule as such mechanism is' thrown out. Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig.

l with my clutch thrown in. Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation looking from the left of line 66 of Fig. 3. Fig. 7. is a section looking down on line 77 of Fig. 6, but showing my clutch thrown out. Fig. 8 is a view from the right of line 88 ofFig. 7

' In locating my device, I cut ofi the cross shaft or the chain which transmits power from the main driving gear to the roving rollers thus making it shorter, and I also make suitable changes in thegear connections.

My device is preferably located between: the main driving gear or means and the roving roller clutch which is now automatically thrown out to stop the roving rollers. In some mules this clutch may be omitted.

I am aware that devices have been invented which are intended to prevent weak spots in the yarn as it is drawn out: and spun, some being arranged to let the carriage move in slightly toward the head after it has reached the limit of itstravel, and others ar- Fig. 4 is a section looking down on ranged to permit the roving rollers to give out a little more roving at that time, but none of these avoid the sudden stop of the roving rollers and the resulting strain on the yarn.

The main driving means is shown as gear Y on the draft scroll driving shaft of well known construction. .Gear S, supported in suitable bearings, meshes with gear Y and also carries a gear X which forms part of the change speed gearing. Intermediate or change speed gear A is carried bya suitable stud 120 slidable in a slot 121 in a suitable hanger or bracket 122 so that a larger or smaller gear may be used as desired.

G car A meshes with gear X and also with my sleeve clutch gear 31 carried by sleeve 29 which is loose on shank 21 of driving roll C.

In suitable bearings, I locate a driving roll C and a driven roll D. Driven'roll D has a relatively large head 10, relatively small shank 11, and a conical neck 12 which connects them, and driving roll 0 has a relatively large head 20, relat'vely small shank 21, and a conical neck 22 which connects them. Driving roll C and driven roll Dare arranged head to shank. and both are grooved or channeled spirallyto receive flexible but inelastic connecting means shown as the chain 1 Chain N is so attached at one end 13 to a hook 1-l= in the headofroll D and at its other end L13. to. a hook 2st in the head of rollC- that when it is being wound: on roll C it will be unwound from rollD,.and=when it. is wound on roll D it will be unwound from roll C.

Hooks 14 and 24: are of such form that if the winding on either roll continues beyond a certain point, the end of thechain will be; released from the hook as it is finally unwound.

It will be seen that when starting with chain N wound on roll D and; roll C is re volved; as head 20 and shank 11 are the same size, the shaft 16,, which carries roll D, will: be revolved at. the same speed with roll C, but as the chain N winds up on 1'0l;l-C, i'tpasscs over-tho necks 22 and 12, and when it begins to; wind on: shank 2.1 and to unwind from head 10, the speed of shaft 16 has beengreatly but gradually reduced, depending on the pitch of the conical necks 22 and 12.

The provision of these driving and driven rollseach formed with a head, neck and shank arranged parallel with head to shank, and connected by a flexible member as described is the principal feature of my invention.

The roving deliveryrolls 90, 91, 92, are driven in any usual manner, for instance as shown in the drawin s by gears 93 and 94: and a shaft: 95. with which is revoluble one member 96 of what I will call the delivery roll clutch F. The other member 97 is fixed to a bevel gear 98, both carried at one end of a sleeve 130 revoluble on shaft 95, gear 98 being always in engagement with bevel gear 19 on the end of the cutoff" cross shaft B.

In Fig. 1 are also shown the roller 100 on the carriage 74, the lever 101 with which it engages whereby the clutch fork 102 is moved to engage members 96 and 97 of clutch F and the gear 103 is caused to engage worm 104 whereby in the old construction as well as in mine, the delivery rolls are caused to revolve. The parts described in this paragraph are all old and well known, the rolls being started as described and being stopped by the engagement of a pin 105 on suitable trigger mechanism when the carriage has receded to a predetermined and by action of a brake not shown.

. In Fig. 1, I show a mule with a double roving motion, wherein shaft. 95 drives the rolls on one side and a separate shaft 135 in continuation thereof drives the rolls, not:

shown, on the other side. Sleeve 130 is shown as revoluble on both shafts and as being kept in place by aiset screw 13.1 which enters agroove 132 in shaft 95. At its other end, sleeve-.130 carries; a member 137 of another roving roller clutch F havinga mem her 136 revoluble with shaft 135 and slidable thereon. This member-136 is caused to engage and disengage member 137 by well known means including members corresp onding with 100, 101:, 102, 103, 104 and 105 all well known.

It'i-s evident that the operation of these clutches and other means for transmitting motion from the cross shaft gear- 19 to the roving rollers; is the same on either a single roving or double roving mule.

The cross shaft; B is also of well known construction except that it is shortened and it carries at its other end a bevel gear 18 which meshes. with a bevel gear 17 fixed to the shaft 160E driven roll D. As sleeve130, bevel gear 98 and clutchmembers 97 and 137 are loose on shafts 95 and 135, they can revolve in either: direction with shafts Bv and 16. 7

Sleeve 29-withmy clutch gear 31 is loose on the shank. or shaft 21 of driving roll (l and also carries a member 32 ofwhat I will call my clutch K. Clutch. member adapted, to engage theothermember 30 of clutch I; which is fixed to shaft 21- as by means. of a set screw 33. and key not shown. Member 30 is extended to form a worm 31 as clearly show-11in Fig. 7. Supported by a suitable bracket 60 is aworm gear 61 which is always in engagement withworin 3a.

Gear 61 has one ormoreholes in the bottom into; any one ofwhich a pin (-52 may be pushed to regulate the point in the travel of the carriage 74 at which-secondary clutch K. is to be disengaged topermitthe rolls 0 point o is to be returned to their normal posi- 40 is so split as to enter a suitable groove 35 in sleeve 29 carrying clutch member 32 while itslower end Or tail 42 extends downward into the path of a slide 50 which has a'slanting cut away part 52 as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A spring 43 attached to any suitable part of the frame and to the tail 42 at all times tends so to move fork L that my clutch Kwill be engaged. The result of this will be that, as the main driving gear Y is revolving substantially all the time and the train of gears S, X, A, 31 is continually revolving, when clutch K is engaged, driving roll O and driven roll D, cross shaft B, and members 97 and 137 of the roving roller clutches F and F 2 begin to revolve and the roving delivery rolls on one or both sides will also revolve if their clutch F or F is engaged.

A heavy spring 51 tends to pull back slide 50 to the position shown in Fig. 4 and this spring has sufiicient strength and the cut away part 52 is at such an angle that, if allowed so to do, the slide will be pulled back moving tail 42 so as to disengage clutch K.

To engage clutch K, I provide a setting arm or lever H which, as shown in Fig. 8, is pivoted at 71 and extends over at-70 into such a position that its roller 75 will engage a nose 57 on slide 50. Its other end .72 is so bent that when the carriage 74 moves toward the head, the roller 73 carried by it will strike tail 72 and move the parts from the full line position to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 8.

In a mule with a double roving'motion, a roller like 100 and setting means are usually provided for the rollers on the other. 7 side.

. When pulled by the setting lever H out against the action of tension spring 51, tension spring 43 acting on clutch fork L causes clutch K to engage. To keep it engaged, however, when the carriage recedes and arm 72 which is heavier than70 causes H to drop back by gravity, I provide a lock lever T which has a vertical arm- 63 the end of which isin the path of pin 62 and which is pivoted at 64 in such manner-that its horizontal arm 65. which carries a catch extension 66 will ordinarily by gravity drop so that catch 66 will fall down behind the back end 58 of slide 50 thus holding it in position and allowing spring 43 to keep the clutch K engaged. v

Pin 62 is so positioned that, after the parts have started and worm 34 revolves gear'61, it will strike the'top end of vertical arm 63 as shown in Figs. 3 and 8 and will so move it as to tip lock lever T- until catch 66 is lifted clear fromslide 50 as shown in Fig. 8 thus releasing it and allowing spring 51 to move it from the position shown in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 4. This movement causes tail to ride over incline 52 thus releasing clutch K and throwing out of action the driving roll'C, driven roll D, and cross shaft B.

I prefer to so adjust pins 105 and 62that the main clutch F will be disengaged before the secondary clutch K is disengaged.

To return the parts to their original positions, I attach one end of a returning chain 80 to the shank 11 of roll D so that it will wind up as chain N unwinds therefrom. Chain80 extends out over a loose pulley 81 and at its end carries a weight W which is lifted by the rotation of roll Dbut which when the clutches F and K are disengaged causes chain 80 to unwind and to return all the parts between main clutch member 97 and secondary clutch member 30 to their original positions.

To prevent running away of the parts on the return action I prefer to make weight W with a head 84 which just fits into a tube 82 which may or may not have a small air outlet hole 83 whereby the head 84 will act as a piston compressing the air in 82 thus causing it to run down easily. I also prefer to use a ringshaped additional weight 85 which rests on head 84 until it strikes the top of the tube 82 when it is caught and lifted off. The object of this extra weight is to give the rolls a surestart on their backward turn.

I also prefer to provide a chain 86 one end of which is attached to a barrel 26 carried by roll C in such a manner that as chain N winds up chain 86 unwinds and when chain N is being unwound from roll C by the action of weight W, chain 86 will be wound up until a pendant 88 carried by it strikes a suitable stop 89 which limits the movement of the parts.

This pendant 88 or check weight is preferably adjustable on chain 86 as by means of a hook 99. As rolls C and D and parts between clutches F and K are reversible, when these clutches are disengaged, weight NV causes them to reverse to a point determined by the position of pendant 88 and stop 89. This point determines the starting position of the rolls when the clutches are again engagedon the outward movement of the carriage, as chain N is rewound on roll C to a greater or less extent, as determined I This point thus also determines the number of revolutions of rolls 0 by such point.

and D before chain N begins to ride on neck 12 to slow down the rolls. By altering the of my rolls is altered and by so doing, when changing from fine to coarse yarn and the reverse, the necessity, of changing the draft scroll wings, which determine the rate of speed and time of slowing down of the carriage, is avoided, but the same is obtained with much greater ease.

In a mule with a double roving motion, wherein one side is set for the roving rollers to let out perhaps thirty-eight inches and the other side thirty-six inches, my device should be set so as to slow down at about thirty-two inches, and in this way one of my slowing down devices can be used for any of the ordinary variations in the two sides.

with a double roving motion, onaccount of the double adjustment, it is necessary to have two clutches for the rovingrolls and these should both be disengaged before my clutch is disengaged, for if my clutch were disengaged first, all the roving rolls would stop at the same time.

lVith a single roving motion, however, I

can substitute for the roving roller clutch or clutches, a pawl and ratchet or similar device on the roving roller driving shaft, as shown in Fig. 2, or anywhere between it and my driven roll D.

In Fig. 2, shaft 16 is the same, and shaft 195, which drives the roving rollers, is continuous instead of being divided into shafts 95 and 135.

Instead of cross shaft B and gears 17 18, 19, and 98, I show a well known construction for a chain drive including a sprocket 117 fixed to shaft 16 and a sprocket 118 carried in suitable bearings both connected by an endless chain P. Gear 119 revolves with sprocket 118 and meshes with a gear 198 fixed to a sleeve 230 which is loose on shaft 195 as is sleeve 130' on shaft 95.

Instead of clutch member 97 I provide a ratchet 197 fixed to sleeve 230 and in place of clutch F and the usual clutch operating mechanism for it, I fix to shaft 195 a hub- 196 as by means of a set screw 192. This hub carries a pawl 199 which is kept in elastic engagement with ratchet 197 by means of a spring 194:.

With this arrangement on a single roving motion mule, the point of stoppage of the roving rollers can be fixed by adjusting pin 62, the pawl and ratchet being necessary because the roving rollers always advance while my device advances while driving but must be and is provided with means to return it to its normal position after my clutch is disengaged.

I prefer to use the hook connections 1 1 and 2st for the chain N so that if for any reason my clutch. sticks and does not throw out, the chain will simply be automatically disconnected but no harm will be done.

I prefer to have my chain N long enough and the heads and shanks of my driving and driven rolls of suflicient length so that the slowing down point can be adjusted or fixed at any point of the travel offthe carriage so that if desired such point can be setat, or almost at, the outward limit of travel where a full draft is desired.

This slowing down point can be varied as also the normal positions of the rolls by changing the position of pend-ant 88- through the medium of book 99 on chain 86.

The stopping point of my rolls can be adjusted. by means of pins 62 as described. The starting point is when the carriage begins to travel away fromthe head.

The exact type of trigger mechanism for locking the parts such: as clutch K in p0 sition and of releasing it is unimportant except that I prefer to have the releasing point adjustable, but other mechanism than that shownmay be used.-

By means to stop the roving rollers I- refer generally to the brake of well knownv construction which actually stops them, although in the construction shown in my Fig. 2 the throwing out of my. clutch removes the power and they will ordinarily stop sooner or. later even without a brake,

By means to return the parts to their. normal positionsI include the chain 80 and weight W.

The head of the driving. roll or of the driven roll may be only very slightly larger or of the same size as its shank and my device will operate, but I prefer the construction shown.

I claim:

1. In a. spinning mule having a head which includes roving delivery rollers,v a

delivery roller clutch,.means to engage and disengage the delivery'roller clutch, and a.

driving roll and themain driving means,

means to engage said clutch thereby to r0- tate the driving rollwhen the carriage starts to recede from the head,.means to disengage said clutch when the carriage has receded to a predetermined point, and means to return the drivingv and driven rolls to their normal positions;

2. In a spinning mule having. a. head,

which includes roving delivery rollers and main driving means, and. a carriage adapted to advance toward andto recede from the head, the combmatl-on of; reversible driving;

and driven 1 rolls each having a head, a shank, and a conical neck connecting them, such rolls being located parallel to and head to shank with each other, flexible but inextensible means so attached at each end to a roll that when winding up on one it will be unwinding from the other, reversible connections between the driven roll and the roving rollers, a'clutch between the driving roll and the main driving means, means to engage said clutch thereby to rotate the driving roll when the carriage starts to recede from the head, means to disengage saidclutch when the carriage has receded to a predetermined point, and means to return the driving and driven rolls to their normal positions.

3. In a spinning mule having a head which includes roving delivery rollers and main driving means, and a carriage adapted to advance toward and to recede from the head, the combination of reversible driving and driven rolls each having a head, a shank, and a conical neck connecting them, such rolls being located parallel to and head to shank with each other, flexible means so attached at each end to a roll that when winding up on one it will be unwinding from the other, reversible connections between the driven roll and the roving rollers, revoluble connections between the driving roll and the main driving means, means to make operative such revoluble connections and to make them inoperative at a predetermined point, and means to return the driving and driven rolls to their normal positions.

i. In a spinning mule havingahead which includes roving delivery rollers and main driving means, and a carriage adapted to advance toward and to recede from the head, the combination of reversible driving and driven rolls each having a head, a shank, and a conical neck connecting them, such rolls being located parallel to and head to shank with each other, flexible means so attached at each end to a roll that when winding up on one it will be unwinding from the other, reversible connections between the driven roll and the roving ro llers,revolub1e connections between the driving roll and the main driving means, means to make operative such revoluble connections adjustable to make them inoperative at a predetermined point, means to return the driving and driven rolls to their normal positions, and means to alter such normal positions.

5. In a spinning mule having a head which includes roving delivery rollers and main driving means, and a carriage adapted to advance toward and to recede from the head, together with means to cause the carriage to so advance and recede, the combination of reversible means, operated independent of the means to cause the carriage to ad vance and recede, positively and adjustably to reduce the speed of the roving rollers, between them and the main driving means, and mechanism to start, stop, and return the reversible means to normal position.

6. In a spinning mule having a head which includes roving delivery rollers and main driving means, and a carriage adapted to advance toward and to recede from the head, together with means to cause the carriage to so advance and recede, the combination of means to stop the roving rollers, reversible means operated independent of the means to cause the carriage to advance and recede, positively and adj ustably to reduce the speed of the roving rollers before they stop, between them and the main driving means, mechanism to start, stop, and return the re versible means to normal position, and means to alter the slowing down point and the stopping point.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

ABRAHAM L. DUNHAM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

